Electric Shabbos Candles
Question: How has electrical lighting affected the traditional way of lighting Shabbos candles?
Discussion: When electricity became commonplace, the Poskim debated whether the mitzvah of kindling Shabbos lights could be fulfilled by turning on electric lights. While the vast majority of Poskim were of the opinion that one could indeed fulfill this obligation with electrical lighting, and some even maintained that it was preferable to use electricity, most women opted to continue lighting the traditional wax (paraffin) candle or oil-based lights. This remains the prevalent custom today. Still, there is a prominent role for electric lights to play in the performance of this mitzvah and indeed, almost every Jewish household relies on electricity in order to properly and completely fulfill the mitzvah of kindling Shabbos lights. Let us explain:
The halachah states that one is obligated to have light in any room that will be used on Friday night.[i] Our Sages instituted this ordinance so that household members would be able to safely move about the house without fear of injury that would disrupt the harmony of Shabbos. Today, most homes rely on some electrical source (night-light, bathroom-light, etc.) to illuminate the areas in which they will find themselves on Friday night. Thus, they fulfill this part of the mitzvah with electric lights.[ii]
The appropriate procedure, then, is as follows. When the wife is ready to light candles in the dining room, all the electrical lights in the rooms that will be used on Friday night should be shut off. Those lights should then be turned on by the husband (or wife or another family member), with the intention that they are being turned on for the sake of the mitzvah of Shabbos candles. The wife then lights the candles, and the blessing she recites covers all of the lights in the house, both electrical and otherwise.
There are a number of other scenarios in which electric lights may be used in conjunction with candles in order to properly fulfill the mitzvah:
- Students residing in a dormitory or guests staying at a hotel are obligated to light Shabbos Even if they light candles in the dining hall, they are still required to light in the area where they sleep. Since it is usually unsafe to leave candles burning in a dormitory or in a hotel room, we must rely on electric lights to fulfill that part of the mitzvah. A small light should, therefore, be turned off and on in honor of Shabbos before Shabbos starts. A blessing, however, should not be made, since the blessing is recited over the candles which are lit in the main dining room.
- Shabbos guests can technically fulfill the mitzvah of lighting Shabbos candles through the lighting of their hosts. Even though they are not required to light a special candle of their own, it has nevertheless become customary that all married women light their own candles. But since the guests are required to have some light in their sleeping area (to fulfill the halachic obligation mentioned above), the proper procedure for them is as follows: Turn on an electric light in or near one’s sleeping quarters, proceed quickly to the dining room and light candles, and have the blessing apply to both acts of lighting.[iii]
Sometimes a situation arises where the mitzvah of kindling Shabbos lights can be performed by using electric lights only. For instance:
- Moments before Shabbos is about to begin, one realizes that there are no candles in the house and none can be obtained on such short notice. Instead of panicking, the dining room lights should be turned off and then turned on again in honor of Shabbos.
- In a situation where using candles would be difficult or dangerous, such as in a hospital, the Poskim agree that one should rely on the electric lights for Shabbos They should be turned off and then turned on again for the sake of the mitzvah.[iv]
Many Poskim maintain that the blessing, “lehadlik ner shel Shabbos” is recited even when the mitzvah is performed by lighting electric lights only.[v] Others hold that in such a case the blessing should be omitted.[vi] No clear-cut custom exists and one should follow the directive of one’s Posek.
[i] Mishnah Berurah 263, notes 2 and 31. See Shevet HaLevi III, 24.
[ii] R’ Y.Y. Weiss (Kol HaTorah, XLII, pg. 17 and pg. 36).
[iii] Rav Y. Kamenetsky recommended this procedure for hotel guests as well; see Emes LeYaakov, Orach Chaim 263, footnote 274.
[iv] Based on Rema, Orach Chaim 263:4 (concerning candles). See Teshuvos Vehanhagos II, 157 citing Rav M. Feinstein.
[v] Teshuvos Beis Yitzchak, Yoreh Deah 120; Machazeh Avraham I, 41; Melamed Leho'il 47; Rav A. Kotler (cited in Kochvei Yitzchak 1:2); Rav Y.E. Henkin (Eidus LeYisrael, pg. 122); Ashrei Ha’ish, Shabbos, 6:33; Yechaveh Da’as 5:24. See also Tzitz Eliezer I, 20:11.
[vi] Har Tzvi II, 114, citing the Gaon of Rogatchov; Mishpatei Uziel, Orach Chaim I, 7; the Tchebiner Rav (cited in Shraga HaMeir V, 11); Rav M. Feinstein (cited in The Radiance of Shabbos, 2, note 26). Rav S.Z. Auerbach (cited in Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah, 43, footnote 22) maintains that a blessing may be recited over a flashlight but not over other lights.